Strong Voices

The word ‘jolt’ can mean shocking someone or something into change. And change is something that drives Christchurch-based dance company Jolt.

Emily Webber takes over her mum’s kitchen with the confidence of a young woman who has worked at the bench many times before.

Taimahi Trust has come a long way from a coffee cart with four guys on the side of the road to a group of micro-enterprises providing great food and eco-products to Whangārei and beyond.

Sarah Dann-Hoare is out to convince employers that young disabled people make great employees.

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After spending most of this year looking for work, Gabe Beyrer found it, right on his doorstep in his favourite café.

For 40 years, the IHC Opportunity Shop has offered great deals to raise funds for people with intellectual disabilities.

Rochelle Waters and Joel Forman are part of Move, a programme run by Christchurch-based dance company Jolt.

A new national secure facility in Porirua is trying to achieve an uneasy balance between providing privacy and therapy and managing high-risk behaviour.

The last time we had comprehensive information on the health of New Zealanders with intellectual disabilities was a Ministry of Health report in 2011. That is about to change. After hearing there was no plan to update the Health Indicators for New Zealanders with Intellectual Disability report, IHC has commissioned a research team to do the job.

Not everyone could handle it, knowing that people were depending on you to raise $14 million in a year. But IHC’s National Manager of Fundraising Greg Millar likes having a target. “It’s always somewhat challenging,” he says.